Cabinet anti-lock means



Sept. 16, 1958 w. s. FERDON CABINET ANTI-Loox MEANS Original Filed Nov.8, 1954 IN VEN TOR.

Affarney,

United States Patent CABINET ANTI-LOCK MEANS William S. Ferdon,Birmingham, Ala.

`Original application November 8, 1954, Serial No. 467,486, now PatentNo. 2,811,119, dated October 29, 1957. Divided and this applicationMarch 11, 1957, Serial No. 645,067

3 Claims. (Cl. 109--63.5)

This invention relates generally to anti-lock devices, and morespecically, to means for preventing the inadvertent closing and/orlatching of a door to a cabinet or the like when someone is within saidcabinet.

This application is a division of my copending application entitledSafety Means for Refrigerators, Eto, Serial No. 467,486, led November 8,1954, now Patent No. 2,811,119, and actually constitutes the speciesdisclosed in my said `copending application in Figs. 5 and 6 therein.

A primary object of my invention is the .provision of an anti-lockingdevice for cabinets such as refrigerators, iceboxes, and the like, whichwill prevent accidental deaths due to suffocation of children who mayenter such cabinets during the course of play.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of ananti-locking device Vfor cabinets or the like which embo-dies va simple,inexpensive means of insuring that the box will close and lock when intransit from store to home and when in use in the home, `but which, uponbeing emptied of its contents, including its removable shelves, willprevent the cabinet lor the like from locking or closing, whereupon itwill be impossible for a child to become entrapped therein.

A further object of the instant invention is the provision of ananti-locking device of the character described which may be built into arefrigerator, icebox, or the 'like and which will automatically preventthe door from closing and/ or locking upon the removal of `one of theshelves of the refrigerator, without which removal suiicient space isnot afforded therein for the entrance of a child.

Still another object of my invention is the provision of an anti-lockdevice of the above character which is durable and effective in use, butwhich at the same time is relatively simple and economically feasible tomanufacture.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent as the description thereof proceeds when considered inconnection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.

In the drawings which illustrate the best mode presently contemplated byme for carrying out my invention:

Fig. l is a fragmentary vertical sectional view 4showing the triggeringmechanism which forms a part of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1 showing anti-lock meansfor preventing latching of the cabinet door; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional View showing a slightly modified formof anti-lock means wherein the cabinet door is prevented from closing.

It has been found desirable to provide means for preventing theinadvertent closure of Va cabinet door or the vPatented Sept. 16, 1958the box. Accordingly, it not infrequently happens that someone finds itnecessary to go inside such a box, and in such a situation thepossibility exists that the door may close accidentally or else it maybe pushed closed by another person who happens by and is ignorant of thefact that someone is inside the box. No matter how it happens, however,the closing of the door in a situation such as thiscan have disastrousconsequences for the person unknowingly trapped within. Furthermore, itis a well-known 'fact that old, discarded iceboxes and the like form anattractive nuisance for small children, who are inclined Ato climbinside during the course of their play. If the door accidentally happensto close, suifocation is a likely consequence should the child not bediscovered in time.

Heretofore, attempts directed at the overcoming of this problem have alltaken the approach of providing means within the cabinet for unlatchingthe door. Such attempts have proven largely unsuccessful, however, 'dueto the fact that the provision of such means destroys to a large degreethe air-tightness of the'b'ox, an important feature where refrigeratingboxes are concerned. Furthermore, nothing has been developed that isfoolproof in operation Vor* practical to put in use, particularly in thesituation where a child is entrapped since the darkness within thecabinet, and the normal panic which attends such a situation, rendersunlikely the possibility of the child effectively actuating some type ofinternal mechanism for providing his release.

The instant invention takes an entirely different approach to theproblem. Instead of providing latching means within the cabinet, I haveprovided means for automatically preventing the closing and/or latchingof the cabinet door responsive to the removal of one of the cabinetshelves, without which removal suificient space is not afforded withinthe cabinet for the entrance of even a small child. While it will beunderstood that the instant invention is broadly applicable to any typeof enclosed cabinet structure having removable shelves therein, itsprime utility is in connection with refrigerators, iceboxes, and thelike, and the following description is ydirected to such a use.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a refrigerator side walllil comprising inner and outer plates 12 and 14, respectively, betweenwhich there is provided a hollow compartment 16. The inner wall 12 isprovided with upper and lower openings 18 and 20, respec-V tively, itbeing noted that the opening 18 is adjacent a bracket 22 secured toinner wall 12 as at 24 for supporting the uppermost refrigerator tray 26in conventional and well-known detachable fashion. A cover plate 28 issecured across the opening 18 and includes -an opening 30, through whichextends a toggle bolt 32 rotatably mounted on a shaft 34. The inner endof the toggle bolt 32 iixedly carries a pin 36 which receivestherearound one end of a coil spring 38, the other end of which isreceived within a cylinder 4l)l extending downwardly from the top of thehollow compartment 16. As will be obvious, the spring 38 tends to urgethe bolt 32 in a clockwise direction about the shaft 34 (viewing Fig.l). However, the bolt 32 will normally be retained in a substantiallyhorizontal position against the action of spring 38 by means of theweight placed thereon by the uppermost tray 26 when the latter is in itsmounted, operative position.

A bearing member 42 is mounted on the inner face of the outer wall 14and slidably receives therethrough an elongated rod 44. VAs will benoted, the upper` end of the rod 44 is pivotally connected to -a link 46which in turn is pivotally connected to the inner .end of the togglebolt 32, whereupon clockwise rotation of said toggle bolt resulting fromthe release of the 'inner end thereof by tray 26 and the resultantclockwise torque applied by spring 38, will cause downward movement ofthe elongated rod or shaft 44 through its bearing 42.

A cylinder 48 is suitably secured at the lower end of the hollowcompartment 16 and houses a spring 50, which cooperates with a shaft-orbolt 52 slidably received within said cylinder, whereupon said bolt isnormally urged outwardly. As will be apparent, the bolt 52 is providedwith a notch 54 which is adapted to receive upwardly therein thecorrespondingly shaped upper end of a plunger 56 slidable verticallywithin a cylinder 58 suitably mounted at the bottom of compartment 16,the plunger 56 being normally biased into its upward position within thenotch 54 by means of a spring 6). Thus, while the aforedescribed spring50 tends to urge bolt 52 outwardly, said bolt will lock against suchoutward displacement by the locking plunger 56. However, a laterallyextending pin 62 is xedly carried by the plunger 56, the outer end ofsaid pin being connected to the lower end of the rod or shaft 44.

In operation, upon the removal of the tray 26 by the child or the liketo permit his body to be received within the refrigerator, the spring 38will rotate the bolt 32 in a clockwise direction, thereby moving the rodor shaft 44 downwardly, which in turn causes the plunger 56 to movedownwardly against the action of its spring 60, whereby the upper end ofsaid plunger becomes disengaged from the notch 54, permitting outwarddisplacement of the' bolt 52 to the dotted-line position shown in Fig.2, in which position said bolt will interfere with the conventionalrefrigerator latch mechanism 64 so as to prevent operation of the latterupon closure of the door 66. A cover plate 68 is secured across theopening 20 and may be removed when it is desired to reset the mechanism.It will be noted that without removal of plate 68, once the bolt 52 hasbeen sprung, it will be impossible for the door 66 to latch closed. Aswill be noted, the cylinder 58 is provided with a slot 70 for receivingtherewithin the pin 62.

A pin 72 is xedly carried by the bolt 52 and extends outwardly therefromthrough an elongated slot 74 provided in cylinder 48, said pin 72 beingadapted to engage the refrigerator latch 64 whereby to limit the outwarddisplacement of the bolt 52 from its cylinder.

Referring now to Fig. 3, a slightly modied form of vmy invention isshown wherein instead of interfering with the refrigerator latchmechanism to prevent operation of same, the bolt 52 is maintained in itsoutwardly displaced position by positive locking means whereuponrefrigerator door 66 is prevented from being completely closed. It willbe understood that in this form of my invention the exact same structuredisclosed and described in connection with Figs. l and 2 supra isemployed, but that additional means are provided for locking the plunger52 in its door blocking position. Said additional means comprise stillanother cylinder 76 mounted at the bottom of compartment 16 adjacent thefront portion thereof, said cylinder 76 being in alignment with theafore-described cylinder 58, whereupon it underlies the bolt or plunger52. Within the cylinder 76 there is provided a slidable latch 78normally urged upwardly by means of spring 80. The upper edge of latch78 is slightly chamfered as at 82 whereupon said latch will be adaptedto resiliently snap into the opening 84- provided in bolt 52, it beingunderstood that said opening corresponds to the notch 54 shown in Fig.2.

Thus, upon actuation of the triggering mechanism by removal of the tray26, the bolt or plunger 56 will be moved downwardly against the actionof its spring 60 in the manner aforedescribed, whereupon the bolt 52will be outwardly displaced by means of its spring 50. As the bolt 52moves outwardly, the latch 78 makes springpressed engagement with itsunder surface until said latch snaps into the opening 84, whereupon thebolt 52 position.

will be positively locked in its outwardly displaced position. In orderto reset the mechanism, latch 78 may be provided with a laterallyextending pin 86 extending outwardly through a slot 88 provided in thewall of cylinder 76, whereupon removal of afore-described cover plate 68readily enables the ,latch 78 to be manually retracted to itsinoperative position, whereupon the bolt 52 may be forced inwardly untilengaged and maintained by plunger 56.

As aforementioned, the only practical difference which exists betweenthe two forms of my invention resides in the fact that in the first formthe door may be closed, but the latch mechanism is prevented fromfunctioning, while in the second form, the door is positively blockedagainst complete closure.

While there is shown and described herein certain specitic structureembodying the invention, it will be manifest to those skilled in the artthat various modifications and rearrangements of the parts may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the underlying inventiveconcept and that the same is not limited to the particular forms hereinshown and described except in so far as indicated by the scope of theappended claims.

I claim:

l. An anti-locking device for refrigerator cabinets and the like havinga door movable from an open to a closed position, a hollow portion inone of the cabinet walls contiguous to said door, said hollow portionbeing defined by inner and outer walls, an opening at the upper portionof said inner wall, a removable tray within said cabinet, a pivotallymounted member extending outwardly through said opening with the outerend thereof in engagement with the undersurface of said tray, springmeans normally urging said member outer end upwardly, an elongated rodmounted within said hollow portion for vertical sliding movement, linkmeans pivotally connecting the upper end of said rod with the inner endof said member, whereupon removal of the tray causes said member torotate about its pivot so as to move said rod downwardly, and bolt meansadjacent the bottom of said hollow portion movable from a retracted,non-operative position to an extended position in which the door isprevented from latching closed, means biasing said bolt to said extendedposition, and means associated with the lower end of said rod engageablewith said bolt for releasably retaining it in its said retractedposition, said retaining means being disengaged from the bolt when ytherod has been moved downwardly.

2. An anti-locking device for refrigerator cabinets and the like havinga door movable from an open to a closed position, a hollow portion inone of the cabinet walls contiguous to said door, said hollow portionbeing detined by inner and outer walls, an opening at the upper portionof said inner wall, a removable tray within said cabinet, a pivotallymounted member extending outwardly through said opening with the outerend thereof in engagement with the undersurface of said tray, springmeans normally urging said member outer end upwardly, an elongated rodmounted within said hollow portion for vertical sliding movement, linkmeans pivotally connecting the upper end of said rod with the 'inner endof said member, whereupon removal of the tray causes said member torotate about its pivot so as to move said rod downwardly, bolt meansadjacent the bottom of said hollow portion movable from a retracted,non-operative position to an extended position in which the door isprevented from latching closed, means biasing said bolt to said extendedposition, movable means releasably retaining said bolt in said retractedposition, and means interconnecting said movable means and said rodwhereby downward movement of the latter actuates the former to releasesaid bolt for movement to its said extended s r i i 1 3. An anti-lockingdevice as set forth in claim 2 further comprising means automaticallyoperable for locking said bolt in its extended position.

References Cited in the 61e of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS RalstonJuly 2, 1918

